Girls Who Powerlift Part Three: Comp Day

Powerlifting Comp Day is Here!

My stomach was swarming with butterflies but I was fuelled and ready to tackle the challenge. Comp day had arrived and there was no backing out now!

We arrived at the venue at 8.00 am on a rather cold and drizzly Hobart day. My gym bag was packed to the brim with everything I would need (basically everything but the kitchen sink). I also had a separate ‘snack bag’ containing an assortment of food and drinks to get me through the day (aka a good stash of sour worms).

I was keen to start fueling up so I had plenty of energy to lift, but my first point of call was weigh-in.

First order of business: Weigh-in and gear checks

The first part of the day involves taking off all your clothes in front of a referee.

My meet, like most powerlifting competitions, had a two-hour weight in (i.e you weigh-in two hours before lifting). The point of this is to ensure you’re within the weight of the class you registered for. But never fear, if you’re over or under you can just slot into a different class.

Basically, you strip off and the refs record your name, weight, Powerlifting Australia member number, weight class and your first attempts on all three lifts. Before you leave they’ll hand you a stack of coloured cards, these are your attempt cards.

You have three cards for each lift which you fill in and give to the team on the tech desk. You (or your coach) need to get these to the tech desk within one minute after your last lift or else it will be automatically increased by 2.5kg.

Whilst waiting in line for my weigh-in, one of the refs came around to check all of our gear to make sure it complies with the rules. This includes your belt, knee sleeves, soft suit, socks and so on.

After a successful gear check and weigh-in, it was time to prepare for the event!

Refueling, checking rack heights, and warming up

With weigh in done, it was time to eat! The first thing I did was hydrate with some electrolytes as I hadn’t had anything to drink since waking and followed it up with a Protein Matrix+ smoothie as this was easy to get down.

Another important thing to do now is check your rack heights on the squat and bench press. For most people, they haven’t ever lifted on the gear used in competition and it will likely differ to the rack height you know at your own gym.

Having the right rack height is key to setting yourself up for a good lift (especially for the squat), you don’t want to be calf raising the bar to get it unracked! Once I found good heights, I wrote them down on my attempt cards so they could be set up for me each lift.

Powerlifting comp day supplementation

Like any other day I had my stash of Bulk Nutrients supps on hand to help me get through a long and tiring day.

My go-to was Electrolyte Plus. Electrolytes with fast-acting carbs are so useful during a meet as they not only help with hydration but deliver simple carbohydrates which can be used as energy for fuel and for replenishing glycogen stores.

I also used Pre Workout 101 to get hyped up ready to lift heavy weights! What I love about PW101 is that I can always rely on it, it’s effective for energy and performance and never leaves me with a crash at the end of the day. It’s also HASTA certified so it’s safe for use in SIA (formerly ASADA)/WADA tested sports.

While I was watching the other lifters I was sipping on BCAA Recovery (also HASTA certified) to stay hydrated and anabolic, and I ended the day with a Intra Workout to help with recovery.

Now let’s get into the actual lifting!

Starting with Squats

I can’t even explain how I was feeling before my first lift of the day. I definitely had nerves but was also pretty excited too. Everyone I’d spoken to before the comp had said that the nerves disappear after the first squat. But for me… They didn’t really. I can’t even remember actually squatting!

Here’s what I put on the bar, just missing my third attempt…

1. 117.5kg - completed
2. 127.5kg - completed
3. 132.5kg - failed

Then on to Bench Presses

Next came the bench press, and I was a little nervous about this as it isn’t my best lift but after the first attempt, I felt like the nerves died right down. I missed my third lift as I jumped the press call (I forgot to pause).

1. 47.5kg - completed
2. 52.56kg - completed
3. 55kg - failed

Finishing on Deadlifts

Now to the pointy end of the meet, the deadlift.

With minimal calls and things to stuff up, I felt much more at ease and my nerves had settled down. Plus, it’s simple right? Pick up the bar and put it back down again.

Lucky for me, my deadlifts moved seriously fast and I got a 7.5kg PB with my third pull of 147.5kg!

1. 130kg - completed
2. 140kg - completed
3. 147.5kg - completed

A silver medal in tow

At the end of the day, I had completed my first ever powerlifting competition, placed second and had a great time while doing it! And this was my first ever medal too, so I was pretty stoked.

What was probably the best part was the atmosphere, everyone was so friendly, encouraging and having a good time.

I ended up with a total of 327.5kg and a Wilks score of 300.28. Overall, I’m just proud of myself for challenging myself and trying something new!

Tips and tricks

What now?

Back to the gym, I go with a new training program and new goals.

I think competing makes you hungry for more and now I want to see what I can do with a proper training stint and more practice. I’m keen to work hard and improve on my own efforts and get even stronger.

I love going to the gym and hitting the weights, but I get more out of it when I have a goal and a plan, as it keeps me accountable and stops me from falling off the bandwagon. Gone are the days of wandering into the gym with no idea what I was going to train.

Thanks for joining me on this three-part blog series. I hope it’s been beneficial for any aspiring powerlifters or strong girls out there!

Just have fun! It’s an awesome sport and fun event, so go and enjoy yourself.

For more reading on powerlifting for women have a look at this article on the benefits of powerlifting for women.